


If You Feed a Cat Once...

by RockinDragonz



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Anorexia, Bulimia, Eating Disorders, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-23
Updated: 2018-04-23
Packaged: 2019-04-26 17:53:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14407365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RockinDragonz/pseuds/RockinDragonz
Summary: Ladybug sees how thin Chat has gotten and takes him to the Dupain-Cheng Bakery so he can eat.  It's sooo not a date.





	If You Feed a Cat Once...

It all started when Marinette took some goodies to their bi-weekly patrol.

There had been a ton of leftovers that would have gone too bad to sell by the next day so Marinette’s parents had decided to keep two basketfuls for themselves and to donate the rest to a nearby shelter. Her parents also kept a batch of croissants for Marinette to give to her class the next day. Before heading out on patrol, Marinette grabbed two croissants and two glazed doughnuts and put them in a safe bag. Upon transforming, she took the bag in her arms and leapt across the rooftops of Paris to their meeting place on top of the Notre Dame. When she got there, Chat was sitting on the edge of the building, swinging his legs back and forth.

“Good evening, my Lady,” Chat said as she landed on the rocky roof. He stood and brushed off his lap, bowing with a flourish and kissing her hand. She giggled at the gesture and pushed him away by his nose, like she always had.

“Hey there, Chat,” she said with a dazzling smile. Chat swore his heart skipped a beat when she smiled like that. “I have a present before we start patrol.” She held up the small paper bag and swung it in front of him.

“Oh, why thank you, my Lady, but I’m afraid I’ll have to fe-cline. I’m on a strict diet.” Ladybug rolled her eyes at the pun, a fond smile crossing her lips.

“Oh come on, you can’t even have one croissant from the best bakery in Paris? Not even one?” She said, drawing the aforementioned pastry from the bag, “they’re pawsitively delicious, kitty ca-” Her phrase was interrupted by a loud rumbling noise coming from her partner. Her eyes blew wide as saucers and she stared down at his stomach. With only one look, she saw how muscular and well built he was, but she also noticed how thin his hips were and how small his thighs seemed to be, despite all the muscle. She swore she could see a few ribs too.

“Kitty...are you...getting enough to eat?” She said, dropping the croissant back into the bag and gently placing it on the ground.

“Of course I am, I am eating purrfectly well.” His eyes, however, told another story. Ladybug saw how he glanced at the back with reserved hunger.

“Kitty, we said we’d never lie to each other about stuff like this,” she said, taking a small step towards him, “please, tell me the truth.” She reached her hand up to give him and affectionate scratch behind his cat ears while staring into his eyes, searching for a hidden answer. He stared at her, his eyes carefully blank and a grin on his face.

“Really, Ladybug, I’m fine,” he said.

“You only call me that when something's wrong,” she said, retracting her hand and folding her arms across her chest, “so spill, alley cat.”

He sighed, finally giving up on his act. As he did so, he seemed to close in on himself and try and make himself look even smaller. “My father has a strict diet laid out for me. He, of course, doesn’t know I’m running around all of Paris almost every day. I had been sneaking food from the kitchens until earlier this month when he caught me sneaking out with an armful of food. Plus all of Plagg’s requests for Camembert, my father thinks I’m going behind his back to stuff myself. So he put new locks on the doors to the kitchen and got a fridge that has a pass-code to open it,” Chat said with a shrug. Ladybug brought her hand up to her mouth, covering the horrified ‘o’ that had formed on her lips.

“Oh Chaton, I’m sorry, that’s awful!” she said, reaching out and putting her hand on his shoulder. At that moment, she wished she knew who he was just so she could go give his father a piece of her mind.

“Eh, it's no big deal, I was probably getting too big anyways,” he said. With one tug, Ladybug pulled Chat into her arms and curled protectively around him. She held him tight and, after a moment's hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her waist and gently hugged her back.

“Chaton,” she whispered, “you are practically skin and bones right now.”. Her voice was soft, much softer than he had ever heard it, and she sounded almost broken. Almost immediately he regretted telling her, hating that he was the one that had made her feel so small. When next she spoke, he was resolving to back up and laugh it all off, playing it off as a joke.

“If I knew who your father was, I would have to give him a serious piece of my mind,” she said, pulling away from him and putting her hands on her hips, “I mean, it’s just plain ridiculous! You are a growing teenage boy, for fuck’s sake!” At this, Chat took a step back in surprise. In the two years they had known each other, she had never said anything worse than ‘shit’. It took him off guard and, all at once, he knew how angry she was and how much she cared about him.

“My Lady,” he started, but she was pacing now and wasn’t listening to him at all.

“You need to eat in order to live, and being this skinny and being forced to not eat, you can develop some really bad disorders that can prevent you from growing and even kill you. I swear to god if I ever find out who you are I am going to kick your father’s ass personally. No child should have to live like that, it’s unsafe! Honestly!” She was yelling so loud, he swore all of Paris could hear her right then. Cautiously, he took a step towards her and held his hand out to her.

“My Lady, it’s fine, really,” he said, reaching for her hand. When he took it, she looked at him, her eyes holding that same determined glare he had seen on her whenever they fought a particularly difficult akuma.

“No, it isn’t!” she said, “In fact, it is so not okay that I am going to bring snacks to you from now on and we are going to meet up every night so I can get some proper food in you.”

“Ladybug,” he said, eyes blown wide, “you don’t have to, really.”

“Nope, I’ve already made up my mind. In fact, what time is it?” she said, pulling her yo-yo off of her side. The small digital clock on it read 21:00. “Okay, if we hurry, the Dupain-Chengs might have some food leftover from the day’s baking. Patrol is cancelled tonight. You need some real food in you.” She grabbed the bag of snacks and placed them gently into the hiding spot full of food they kept up here in case of emergencies.

“Ladybug, we can’t just barge in on them!”

“They won’t mind, trust me.”

“But we don’t have any money!”

“I will ask if they can do an IOU for Paris’ favorite superheros.” By this point, she had already grabbed his wrist and was pulling him towards the bakery. With a resigned sigh, he let her drag him to the edge of the platform they were on and prepared to jump with her. With practiced ease, they flew over the roofs of Paris. Once landing, they were face to face with the large man that was Tom Dupain-Cheng as he wiped down the glass door. He stared at them in awe before turning and yelling for Sabine. Ladybug really hadn’t thought this through, had she? With a nervous grin, she waved at the big man who she normally called ‘papa’ and reminded herself to be extra careful about the names she used for them right now.

He swung the door open, a jovial grin on his large features. “How can I help you Ladybug?” he said, his excitement bleeding through to his words.

“Well, my partner and I were kind of hungry from running around on patrol all night and were wondering if, by any chance, you had any of your baked goods leftover from the day? We don’t have any money right now, but I will swing by tomorrow and pay for whatever you are able to give us tonight. I realize it’s late and you’re already closed but-”

“Yes, of course! We have plenty left over from today. And please, don’t stress about paying, food is a small gift in comparison to what you do for the city,” he said, that same friendly smile still dominating his features. He waved them inside and moved to take down two chairs from where they were sitting upside-down on a table.

“Let me help, please, I don’t mean to intrude.” Ladybug took the other chair off the table with ease and smoothed out the pink tablecloth like she had done so many mornings before opening. Tom stepped back in slight surprise, but the excited smile never left his face for even a second.

“Tom? What did you need honey?” Sabine said, coming down the stairs. When she saw who was standing in their small bakery, she paused for a moment in shock and turned to Tom for an explanation.

“Ladybug and Chat Noir here were hungry after, patrol was it? And they wanted some leftover pastries!”

“Oh! Of course, you go up and get the pastries and I’ll set the table for them,” Sabin said, already moving to where Ladybug knew they kept the candles and table settings.

“Mrs. Dupain-Cheng, please, there’s no need for that-” Chat began, stepping towards the small Asian woman.

“Oh nonsense, only the best for Paris’s heroes!” she said, “please, sit! I’ll get you some water.” She smiled at the pair and set the candle down in the center of the table beside a small vase of fake flowers and the salt and pepper shakers. Chat tried to stop her again, but Ladybug reached a hand out and touched his shoulder gently, shaking her head. With what seemed like the millionth sigh of the night, he accepted his fate and decided to put on a show of sorts for Ladybug. With a flourish he pulled out her chair for her and made a slight bow.

“For you madam,” he said, his voice low and mischievous. Ladybug laughed and sat in the offered seat.

“Why thank you, kind sir,” she said, her voice playful. He gently pushed her chair in, ignoring the loud noise it made as it scraped against the tile, and moved to sit in his seat across from her. The silence that fell between them was a comfortable one, filled with them looking around the small shop and taking it all in. Sabine returned a moment after they had sat down with two glasses of water and a lighter. She set the glasses down and lit the candle between them, instantly shifting the mood from comfortable to mildly awkward.

“Oh, Tom and I are so flattered that you two chose here for your date!” She said, fixing the candle and the vase so it looked better, though, if you had asked Chat, it looked perfectly wonderful before. He found himself thinking this a split second before his brain short circuited at the word ‘date’.

“Oh we-we aren’t on a date, it's not like that, we’re just-” Ladybug spluttered.

“Of course not,” Sabine said with a knowing wink. She walked away before Ladybug could say anything else with a smile on her face. Chat was still too stuck on the word ‘date’ to even notice. Wasn’t this a date? They were together, eating by candlelight, enjoying each other’s company and having fun. Chat only really had movies to compare too, though, but this seemed mildly romantic. He had even pulled out her chair for her like all the guys did in the movies he had seen.

It seemed that Ladybug had seen the wistful and happy look on his face and was shooting him a disapproving glare. “Chaton, this is not a date,” she said, wagging a finger at him.

“I dunno, it seems like a date,” he said, a Cheshire grin covering his features, “are you finally trying to woo me, Bugaboo? Because all you’d have to do to woo me is say this was a date and I would be a goner.” He made sure to monitor his tone and keep it light and teasing so she wouldn’t see the truth behind his words. She gave him a small laugh in return and shook her head. He was about to make some joke about how easy he was when Tom returned to the table with several pastries that, even though they were leftover from the day, smelled amazing.

“I wasn’t sure what you would like so I brought everything that I could find. Go ahead and have it all, we have plenty more. If you want anything else, just ring the bell on the counter there and my wife or I will come as soon as possible. Enjoy the food and your date,” Tom said, still wearing his massive smile.

“Oh, we aren’t-”

“Thank you sir, we will,” Chat said, interrupting Ladybug’s words of protest. Tom set the tray of pastries on the edge of the table and set two small glass plates in front of them and walked away.

Ladybug and Chat Noir each took a pastry and took a bite out of it, both making small noises of happiness at the taste. For Ladybug, it was the taste of home, of safety, of love. For Chat, it was the taste of something unfamiliar and new, but enticing. He couldn’t help but want more.

“This is so good,” he said, though he was hardly understandable through the mouthful of croissant.

“Kitty, manners,” Ladybug said, tearing off a piece of her croissant and gently placing it on her tongue, savoring the taste. Chat nodded, finishing his bite and swallowing hard before tearing off another piece with his teeth. Oh, if only his father could see him   
now, stuffing his face and talking with his mouth full. He would probably ban me from being in this bakery ever again, he thought bitterly. He must have pulled a sour face at the thought because Ladybug noticed and looked at him, worried.

“Does it not taste good?” she said. Eyes wide, he shook his head violently, mumbling something that sounded vaguely like ‘delicious’. Ladybug finished her croissant and smiled at her partner, who had already moved on to the doughnuts her parents had brought out. He didn’t notice her staring at him, a fond smile on her lips. In that moment, she thought about how much she enjoyed being around him and how protective she felt towards him. He was, quite honestly, her best friend in the entire world (sorry Alya) and she knew that she had to take care of him no matter what. In that moment, she made the decision that she should tell him who she is, just so he could stop by the bakery more often and have an actual dinner, she knew her mother would love to show off her cooking skills to someone new. Chat looked up, finally making eye contact with Ladybug, and saw the fond look that had taken over her features. He swallowed hard, his eye going wide once more in his surprise. Shaking it off, he forced himself to act normal and ignore the possible implications of that look.

“See something you like, Bugaboo?” he said, his tone low and flirtatious. Ladybug sat up straight in her surprise, having been leaning on her hand, and stared down at the plate in front of her, cheeks burning.

“N-not at all, silly cat,” she said, launching into familiar territory. What the hell had she been thinking? Revealing herself? Well, they had known each other for two years and he was truly her best friend, but revealing herself? What the HELL Marinette? She thought.

Chat noticed her blushing cheeks and her slight mess up, but made no comment on it in favor of gaping like a fish. Her normally witty retort had no real push behind it like it normally had. Normally, he would make a flirtatious remark and she would rebuff his advances in a joking voice with seriousness completely behind it. That response sounded almost...panicked. Brushing it off as a simple fluke, he changed the subject.

“Thank you for bringing me here, my Lady.” She looked up at him again, a familiar happy smile now on her face, and nodded. She was grateful for the change of subject.

“You needed to eat, and I love their food,” she said with a slight shrug, “I...care about you, kitty. You’re my best friend, and I don’t want anything to happen to you because you aren’t eating enough. From now on, I’m going to be ordering food from here for you to pick up every night and I will meet you at our spot to keep you company while you eat.” He stared at her, eyes wide, heart full of hope and love, but shook his head rapidly.

“You don’t have to do that, my Lady! That has to be expensive,” he said, waving his hands around dramatically as he spoke.

“Nope, I have already decided. Money isn’t an issue, I get weekly allowances plus what I make with my sewing, so it's settled.”

“You sew?” he said, his voice filled with excitement at finding out something about her personal life.

“Uh, oops,” she said, “I, uh, yeah, I do.”

“That's amazing, my Lady! What do you make?”

“That's enough personal information for one day, kitty cat.”

“Fine, but if you insist on getting me food from here, please let me pay for it,” he said, “money is not an issue at all for me, I promise.” He had told her the same thing many times, and she trusted him completely, so she would take his word for it.

“Will you eat all the food?”

“As much as I can, yes.”

“Then it’s settled.” She nodded matter-of-factly, already making a plan to talk to her mom the next day during the slow hours. “Bring the money to our spot at some point tomorrow and send me a message that it's there. Whatever you can’t cover, I will.”

The rest of the night continued with relative ease as they finished their pastries. Their conversations were easy as ever and they stayed away from her slip up in saying her interest. When they were ready to leave, it was 21:55. Ladybug did the normal ritual of blowing out the candle and swiping off the table, reminding herself to mop in the morning, and they put the chairs up on the table just like they had found them. Figuring that the owners were already asleep by now, they left their dirty dishes on the counter and left the small shop, Ladybug flicking the lights off behind them.

“Oh, we should wake them so they can lock the doors,” Chat said. Ladybug shook her head.

“It locks automatically after eleven if it isn’t manually locked before,” she said, slightly kicking herself for the little white lie.

“Oh, alright,” he said.

“Well Chaton, shall we make one quick run around the city?” Ladybug held out her hand to him with a grin covering every feature on her face.

“We shall, my Lady,” he said, a Cheshire grin on his lips. He took the offered hand and then began to run, arms swinging between them. When they reached high enough speeds to jump on the nearest roof, Ladybug took her hand back and threw her yo-yo out. Chat followed close behind, extending his staff to help him leap between buildings. Adrenaline pumped through their bodies. They didn’t slow until they reached the Eiffel tower, the place where their patrols always began and ended. Despite running like this so often, they always pushed themselves more on patrol, needing to get daily stresses out of their systems, so their breathing was labored as they landed. Neither said anything, simply looking out over Paris, looking out over their city and the city they were charged with protecting. Ladybug thought about her friends and family, who she would fight with everything she had to protect. Chat thought of his friends and caretakers, who raised him in the absence of his father, and how he would give everything to protect. His father however? Boy, were those feelings complicated.


End file.
